ever since she’d met Zach Christopher, Gershom’s presence had been all around her, circling her like a jealous, demon lover who had come back to lay claim to his possession.
Anya sighed as she rested her forehead against the cold glass. What must it be like, she thought, to share a life with someone like Zach, to wake up in the sunshine with him every single morning? What must it be like to love someone selflessly and be loved in return?
Anya had never known real love, except from her grandmother, perhaps. And Cora’s house in the country had been the only real home Anya had ever known. Her parents had divorced when she was a child, and she had been shuffled back and forth between them, never really belonging ineither of their new lives or to their new families. As often as not, she had been left to her own devices in the city.
Then one summer Anya had been “discovered” on the subway returning home from school. Soon after, she’d been pursued by the top modeling agencies in the city. She’d quickly become seduced by the glamour and the attention. Her career had skyrocketed, and Anya had reveled in the adoration.
But all too soon she’d realized that the outpouring of affection for her was only superficial. Without her great beauty, no one would really love her at all. No one would want her.
That was why Gershom’s seduction had been so pitifully easy. He’d promised her eternal beauty, everlasting love, and Anya had been foolish enough to believe him. Her grandmother had just died, leaving her completely alone, and Anya, on her own in Europe at seventeen, had still desperately needed someone to cling to. Someone to love.
If only her grandmother had lived, Anya thought with an edge of bitterness. How different her life might now be.
For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to think about Cora. Anya closed her eyes and, for a moment, conjured up the image of wispy white hair and warm blue eyes, of soothing, careworn hands and soft, gentle laughter. For just a moment, she let herself experience the memory of basking in the comfort of loving arms.
The image flashed brilliant, then faded, like heat lightning in the dead of night.
And when it was gone, Anya felt lonelier than ever as she stared out the window, waiting for the next sunrise.
CHAPTER FIVE
Z ach’s secretary held out a handful of pink message slips as he walked past her desk the next morning. He shifted his briefcase to the other hand and plucked the papers from her fingers without breaking stride as he headed toward his office.
“Get me some aspirin, will you, Edna? And a cup of coffee.”
“I don’t do coffee, remember? Besides, caffeine’s bad for a hangover. I’ll get you some orange juice.”
Zach gave her a beleaguered look over his shoulder. Edna knew him too well. He should have gotten rid of her years ago, he thought dryly. “You don’t do coffee, but you’ll get orange juice? What kind of cockeyed logic is that?”
“The same kind that directed me to leave a company I’d been with for more than twenty years to move over here with you, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
Edna Nelson had been Zach’s secretary at Darrow Pharmaceutical. When Kathryn Christopher had persuaded him to accept her offer here, he’d convinced Edna to move with him. Sometimes, in spite of her imperious attitude, Edna seemed like the only friendly face in a den of hostility.
Zach wondered if there was even one person at Renee Alexander, other than Edna and perhaps his mother, who would be glad to see him succeed. He’d overheard more than one dire prediction of his inevitable failure.
But that was okay. That only served to make him moredetermined than ever. Edna had told him once in her usual forthright fashion that it was his own fault, anyway. He did nothing to foster the support and loyalty of the employees.
“People like to be flattered, appreciated. You’ve never even brought me flowers in all the years we’ve been
Anya sighed as she rested her forehead against the cold glass. What must it be like, she thought, to share a life with someone like Zach, to wake up in the sunshine with him every single morning? What must it be like to love someone selflessly and be loved in return?
Anya had never known real love, except from her grandmother, perhaps. And Cora’s house in the country had been the only real home Anya had ever known. Her parents had divorced when she was a child, and she had been shuffled back and forth between them, never really belonging ineither of their new lives or to their new families. As often as not, she had been left to her own devices in the city.
Then one summer Anya had been “discovered” on the subway returning home from school. Soon after, she’d been pursued by the top modeling agencies in the city. She’d quickly become seduced by the glamour and the attention. Her career had skyrocketed, and Anya had reveled in the adoration.
But all too soon she’d realized that the outpouring of affection for her was only superficial. Without her great beauty, no one would really love her at all. No one would want her.
That was why Gershom’s seduction had been so pitifully easy. He’d promised her eternal beauty, everlasting love, and Anya had been foolish enough to believe him. Her grandmother had just died, leaving her completely alone, and Anya, on her own in Europe at seventeen, had still desperately needed someone to cling to. Someone to love.
If only her grandmother had lived, Anya thought with an edge of bitterness. How different her life might now be.
For the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to think about Cora. Anya closed her eyes and, for a moment, conjured up the image of wispy white hair and warm blue eyes, of soothing, careworn hands and soft, gentle laughter. For just a moment, she let herself experience the memory of basking in the comfort of loving arms.
The image flashed brilliant, then faded, like heat lightning in the dead of night.
And when it was gone, Anya felt lonelier than ever as she stared out the window, waiting for the next sunrise.
CHAPTER FIVE
Z ach’s secretary held out a handful of pink message slips as he walked past her desk the next morning. He shifted his briefcase to the other hand and plucked the papers from her fingers without breaking stride as he headed toward his office.
“Get me some aspirin, will you, Edna? And a cup of coffee.”
“I don’t do coffee, remember? Besides, caffeine’s bad for a hangover. I’ll get you some orange juice.”
Zach gave her a beleaguered look over his shoulder. Edna knew him too well. He should have gotten rid of her years ago, he thought dryly. “You don’t do coffee, but you’ll get orange juice? What kind of cockeyed logic is that?”
“The same kind that directed me to leave a company I’d been with for more than twenty years to move over here with you, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
Edna Nelson had been Zach’s secretary at Darrow Pharmaceutical. When Kathryn Christopher had persuaded him to accept her offer here, he’d convinced Edna to move with him. Sometimes, in spite of her imperious attitude, Edna seemed like the only friendly face in a den of hostility.
Zach wondered if there was even one person at Renee Alexander, other than Edna and perhaps his mother, who would be glad to see him succeed. He’d overheard more than one dire prediction of his inevitable failure.
But that was okay. That only served to make him moredetermined than ever. Edna had told him once in her usual forthright fashion that it was his own fault, anyway. He did nothing to foster the support and loyalty of the employees.
“People like to be flattered, appreciated. You’ve never even brought me flowers in all the years we’ve been
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